Sudan is unlikely to ease its opposition to the deployment of UN troops in Darfur this week when a top US official visits, but there are signs it may be flexible on boosting African troops in the troubled region.
Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte is expected to deliver a tough message from Washington, which has threatened new measures to try to break Sudan's resistance to international troops to back the ill-equipped African Union (AU) forces.
The AU operates an overstretched 7,000-strong force in Darfur, where violence has persisted despite a 2006 peace agreement between the government and one rebel faction. Unidentified gunmen killed five AU troops earlier this month. Negroponte will also visit Chad and Libya, two other players in the Darfur conflict.
It is not clear when he will arrive in Sudan on a regional tour. South African President Thabo Mbeki, who is known for his diplomatic skills and is promoting his country as a mediator in African affairs, will arrive in Sudan on Tuesday and is expected to discuss the Darfur issue.
At the heart of the debate is the outcome of a November meeting in Addis Ababa. The United Nations says Khartoum agreed then to a three-phase plan that would end with a hybrid AU-UN operation in Darfur. Sudan said it only agreed to the first two phases of UN logistical and financial support.
After a meeting with Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir on Saturday, African Union Chairman Alpha Oumar Konare backed Khartoum, saying that there had been a clear agreement in Addis Ababa that there would be a hybrid force consisting of an African force under AU command with logistical, financial and administrative assistance from the United Nations. But he said the size of the African force had yet to be determined.
The AU and United Nations were holding discussions on the issue on Monday in a technical meeting in Addis Ababa.